The Western Dairy Center has a long history of working to improve the performance of dairy cultures and diary culture systems. Utilizing newly techniques of comparative genomics, Dr. Jeff Broadbent has unlocked the key to exopolysaccharide (EPS) production in dairy cultures. Exopolysaccharides are chains of sugar molecules that are produced by the bacterial cell. When these molecules remain bound to the cell, they can improve dairy products in the following ways: